ISSN: 1525-898XObservations by and for the vaguely disenchanted by Kevin G. Barkes

Conceived above a saloon, delivered into this world by a masked man identified by his heavily sedated mother as Captain Video,
raised by a kindly West Virginian woman, a mild-mannered former reporter with modest delusions of grandeur and no tolerance
of idiots and the intellectually dishonest.

Then there's "Rock, Cornerstone and Temple" and
"Rainbow of Promise, Ark of Salvation and Dove of
Peace."

The phrases are among 12 suggested but not mandatory
wordings essentially endorsed this month by
delegates to the church's policy-making body to
describe a "triune God," the Christian doctrine of
God in three persons.

The Rev. Mark Brewer, senior pastor of Bel Air
Presbyterian Church, is among those in the 2.3-
million-member denomination unhappy with the
additions.

Pastor Stewart Pollock of the Central Presbyterian Church of Tarentum notes:

That wacky Mark Brewer has a real sense of humor. He may call
himself the "senior pastor" of Bel Air Presbyterian Church. But he should not infer from the fact that the Presbyterian General Assembly (or 2.3 million fellow Presbyterians) did not write him a harsh correcting letter that it is actually his title.

The General Assembly did not "essentially endorse" the report
he dislikes so much.

"The world has changed. The world is a different place,"
Pennsylvania native Harris says. "The truth is he's an alien. He
was sent from another planet. He has landed on the planet Earth, and
he is here for everybody. He's an international superhero."

In fact, Dougherty and Harris never even considered including
"the American way" in their screenplay. After the wunderkind
writing duo ("X2: X-Men United") conceived
"Superman's" story with director Bryan Singer during a Hawaiian
vacation, they penned their first draft together and intentionally
omitted what they considered to be a loaded and antiquated expression.
That decision stood throughout the 140-day shoot in Australia, where
the pair remained on-set to provide revisions and tweaks.

"We were always hesitant to include the term 'American way'
because the meaning of that today is somewhat uncertain," Ohio
native Dougherty explains. "The ideal hasn't changed. I think
when people say 'American way,' they're actually talking about what
the 'American way' meant back in the '40s and '50s, which was
something more noble and idealistic."

The truth is that while Superman's noble and idealistic mission hasn't changed, the America of 2006 isn't the place it was when he first appeared just prior to World War II.

An argument can be made that the phrase borders on being a non-sequitur. In the United States of the 21st century, truth and justice and the American way are, sadly, two increasingly divergent concepts.

Superman better be careful. He didn't go through a TSA security checkpoint when he returned to Earth. Worse, it's the second time he entered the country illegally, and he conceals his true identity by pretending to be an real American. An alien like that is obviously up to no good.

Gee, I always thought of him as Presbyterian; his origin story
always had predestinational overtones. But then I attended a Presbyterian
church when I was younger, and he sure behaved the way my Sunday School
teacher said I should, so it was an honest mistake.

All the speculation about the Christic imagery in Superman Returns
rekindled my interest in comparative theology, and some Googling produced a startling revelation: many superheroes appear to have mainstream faiths, even though they apparently don't attend services on a regular basis.

Elliot S! Maggin, who was the head writer for Superman and other DC comics characters in the 70s and 80s, said "I give all my characters religions. I think I always have. It's part of the backstory. It's part of the process of getting to know a character well enough to write about him or her. Jimmy Olson is Lutheran. Lois is Catholic. Perry is Baptist. Luthor is Jewish (though non-observant, thank heaven). Bruce and Batman are both Episcopalian and I said so in the text though it was edited out erroneously.

"Clark- like the Kents- is Methodist. Superman is something else, but I never did buy all that Kryptonian "Great Rao" nonsense. I do think Superman essentially adheres to a kind of interplanetary-oriented Kryptonian-based belief system centered on monotheistic philosophy, and I've got some ideas about it that I
haven't yet articulated other than as backstory. I think Superman is too humble to ask for things in prayer, but I think he prays by rote, and constantly, the way some of us talk to ourselves in the shower."

Batman's an Episcopalian? Hmm. That explains a great deal.

Here's a discussion of Superman's involvement with religion in the comics, and here's a site that provides a handy grouping. "The Legion of Presbyterian Superheroes." Wow. That's a title I never thought I'd see in print.

When someone asks why Superman Returns isn't more realistic what
they're really saying, whether they know it or not, is "why can't he
be more like me" or "why does he have to be so much better
than I am?"

We're no longer interested in achievers. Our idols are flawed, and in
many cases failures. Our baseball players take drugs, our basketball
stars rape women. William Hung has made a fortune out of humiliating
himself so others can laugh at him. We choose a president who cheats
on his wife with unattractive women, and then another with an IQ of 89
and problem with word pronunciation. Superman stands above any of
that. He's not Batman battling dark demons. He's not Spider-Man
struggling to manage a hectic lifestyle. Superman has no flaws, and
that makes us uncomfortable.

Superman Returns is a movie about a guy flying and shooting laser
beams out of his eyes. If you show up to the movie expecting realism,
maybe you should skip down a theater or two to the latest independent
film about teenage drug use. When you complain that the movie isn't
realistic, you're really complaining that Superman is better than you.
We no longer struggle to bring ourselves up to Superman's level,
instead we want to bring him down to ours. The flaw is not with
Superman, but with ourselves.

I think I was the right actor for the part at the time I played it, but I think the role is larger than any particular actor and should be reinterpreted from generation to generation.
-Christopher Reeve on the role of Superman, from his autobiography "Still Me."

The reviews of Superman Returns are mostly positive, although heavyweights like Roger Ebert have been critical of the film's length and lack of humor, at least when compared to the 1978 original. Pfft. Hey, it's Superman. He rescues the space shuttle and lands a 777 in a baseball field before cheering multitudes. He lifts cars and the Daily Planet globe. He snatches falling people out of mid-air. There are no wires, bulging flying harnesses, matte lines, color imbalances or front projection shadows. What more could a true believer require?

/(CBS)/ /MIAMI/ Sources have confirmed to WFOR-TV in Miami that conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been detained at Palm Beach International Airport for the possible possession of illegal prescription drugs.

Limbaugh was returning on a flight from the Dominican Republic when they found the drugs, among them Viagra.

Limbaugh entered a plea deal back in April in a previous case where his charge of fraud to conceal information to obtain prescriptions was dropped under the condition he continue undergoing treatment for addiction.

Limbaugh had admitted to being addicted to pain killers on his radio program and had entered a rehabilitation program prior to that arrest.

(Superman wasn't originally conceived to be a modern, allegorical messiah. He was just a good guy who beat up bad guys.

But like any mythic figure, the Superman legend has undergone substantial embellishment in the past 70 years. It's not surprising that his writers have borrowed heavily from other sources. George Lucas' Star Wars was written after a thorough review of classic folklore; Narnia borrowed directly from the Christian New Testament, deftly substituting a lion for Jesus Christ.

Superman certainly reflects the Judeo-Christian beliefs of the America in which he was born. Like Moses, his parents sent him away to escape certain destruction, and he was found and raised by foreigners. Like Jesus, at the age of 30 he embraces his true heritage, reveals his existence to the world, and begins his honorable mission to save humankind from itself- and- in order to sell some comic books and motion pictures- the occasional megalomaniac and/or super-powered alien being intent on world domination.

It's interesting to note that the decline of Superman's popularity in the 1960s and 1970s coincided with the decline in church attendance, and his resurgence occurs at a time when people are searching for a truly admirable role model, a person in whom they can place their trust. Religion has become inextricably intertwined with politics and terrorism. It seems every religious group has a political agenda or plans to impose its beliefs upon the masses.

Superman represents righteousness without dogma, integrity with no strings attached. He doesn't do what he does in order to obtain celestial virgins or eternal life, or to avoid eternal damnation. There's no spiritual carrot/stick motivation here. Superman is good, because goodness is its own reward. It's that simple, unambiguous message that has made him the iconic figure he is and- hopefully- will continue to be.)

Super Jesus?Some find gospel parallels in the new Man of Steel.
By Jacob Adelman
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

First there were the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Now, for many Christian moviegoers, comes another gospel.

As the hype machine shifts into high gear for the Wednesday release
of "Superman Returns," some are reading deeply into the film
whose hero returns from a deathlike absence to play savior to the
world.

"It is so on the nose that anyone who has not caught on that
Superman is a Christ figure, you think, 'Who else could it be
referring to?' " said Steve Skelton, who wrote a book examining
parallels between Superman and Christ.

As one of society's most enduring pop-culture icons, Superman has
often been observed as more than just a man in tights.

In his early 1930s comic-book incarnation, he was a hero of the New
Deal, aiding the destitute and cleaning up America's slums, said Tom
De Haven, author of a book about Superman's status as an American icon
and a novel about the hero's high-school days.

By the 1950s, fears of postwar urban lawlessness had turned him
into a tireless crime fighter, while his early television persona
envisioned him as an idealized father figure, De Haven said.

More recently, Quentin Tarantino had the villain of "Kill
Bill: Vol. 2" wax philosophical about the Man of Steel:
"Clark Kent is how Superman views us... Clark Kent is Superman's
critique on the whole human race."

Some have also seen the hero as a gay icon, forced to live a double
life with his super-self in the closet. A recent edition of the gay
magazine, The Advocate, even asked on its cover, "How gay is
Superman?"

But the comparison to Jesus is one that's been made almost since
the character's origin in 1938, said Skelton, author of The Gospel
According to the World's Greatest Superhero.

Many simply see the story of a hero sent to Earth by his father to
serve mankind as having clear enough New Testament overtones. Others
have taken the comparison even further, reading the "El" in
Superman's original name "Kal-El" and that of his father
"Jor-El" as the Hebrew word for "God," among other
theological interpretations.

"Superman Returns" has been drawing its own comparisons
to biblical accounts, especially after the appearance of its trailer
earlier this year.

The preview shows the hero with his eyes closed as the voice of his
father- Marlon Brando's, courtesy of 1978's "Superman"-
tells him he was sent to Earth because humans "lack the light to
show the way."

"For this reason," continues the voice, "I have sent
them you, my only son."

"The allusion to Jesus Christ could hardly be accidental,"
wrote Christian blogger Tom Gilson.

"Is this a new Superman for the new Evangelist red state
America? Superman as Jesus?" asked one contributor to the
Portland-based blog site Urban Honking.

The premise of the new Superman movie alone has fueled speculation
that it's wearing its biblical comparisons on its long, tight sleeve.
Superman, in the film, returns to Earth after a long absence, a
narrative that's been likened to Jesus' death and resurrection.

Meanwhile, news reports that "Passion of the Christ" star
James Caviezel originally was in the running for the lead role in
"Superman Returns," which eventually went to Brandon Routh,
convinced others that the film's makers were playing up the New
Testament comparisons.

Moviegoers who enter the theater looking for Christian imagery are
unlikely to be disappointed. At one point, Superman sustains a stab
wound reminiscent of the spear jabbed in Christ's side by a Roman
soldier. In another scene, Routh poses with his arms outstretched as
though crucified.

Not everybody welcomes the Superman-Jesus comparisons.

"It's a misrecognition," said Amy Pedersen, who is
writing her doctoral thesis in art history at UCLA on superhero comic
books.

Pedersen said Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who introduced Superman
in 1938 in a comic book, were Jews who were inspired by the Old
Testament story of Moses and the supernatural golem character from
Jewish folklore.

The Christian allusions are recent innovations that compromise the
integrity of the Superman myth, she said.

"This does not need to be a consistent cultural form from its
beginning to its present, but something has to be maintained,"
Pedersen said.

"Superman Returns" director Bryan Singer said the notion
of Superman as a messianic figure is simply another case of
contemporary storytelling borrowing from ancient motifs.

Singer, who is Jewish, said his neighbors' Christianity played a
powerful role in the community where he grew up.

"These allegories are part of how you're raised. They find
their way into your work," he said. "They become ingrained
in your storytelling, in the same way that the origin story of
Superman is very much the story of Moses."

It's unlikely that studio executives, conscious of the size of the
Christian audiences that were coaxed into theaters by the biblical
echoes in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," would
discourage religious associations.

"The way in which the Christian population can get behind a
movie that they can agree with is a huge push financially," said
Skelton, who also distributes Bible-study kits that draw scriptural
lessons from classic television episodes. "It's a smart move in
terms of attracting an audience."

At the same time, Superman is fixed firmly enough in popular
secular culture so that the religious accents are unlikely to alienate
a mainstream audience, said Craig Detweiler, who directs the
film-studies program at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena.

"Just like Jesus, in some ways (Superman) transcends parties
and politics and can not be co-opted to serve the narrow interests of
others," he said. "That could be one reason why studios
aren't afraid to let Superman go that way, toward the religious."

Thomas Jefferson once said, "Of course the people don't want war. But
the people can be brought to the bidding of their leader. All you have
to do is tell them they're being attacked and denounce the pacifists
for somehow [having] a lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.
It works the same in any country." I think that was Jefferson. Oh
wait. That was Hermann Goering. Shoot.
-Jon Stewart, (hosting the Peabody Awards)

I have multiple layers of spam filtering that keep most junk out of my inbox, and it's about 99.9% effective. Only one or two miscreants manage to sneak through each day. Today's "winner" stopped me dead in my tracks... the subject line, "You've always wanted to use your penis as a billiard cue."